In a strict action against the sale of “spurious and adulterated” cosmetics, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued notices to e-commerce giants — Flipkart, Amazon and IndiaMART — warning the companies of penal actions in case of failing to respond within 10 days.

The notice has been served following the PAN India raids led by drug inspectors on October 5-6, upon reportedly finding some indigenously manufactured cosmetics being sold without valid manufacturing licence and having ingredients imported without necessary registration certificates.

It is to be noted that the law provides for penal actions that may vary from monetary fine to imprisonment for sale of such “unapproved” products.

Among cosmetics being sold by these websites included imported brands that lacked valid documents and contained ingredients in the “negative list” of the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards).

The DGCI has further warned them of penal action for “offering for sale, sale and distribution of spurious, adulterated cosmetics and cosmetics manufactured without a valid licence in contravention of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.”

“In case you fail to submit the reply within the stipulated period, it will be presumed that you have no reply to offer and appropriate action as deemed fit will be initiated against you,” DCGI S Eswara Reddy said in the notice.

The Drug and Cosmetics Act mandates a registration certificate for the import of cosmetics into India, while all cosmetics manufactured in the country need to have a valid licence.

At the same time, cosmetics need to conform to the standards laid down by the BIS and cannot have any ingredient mentioned in its negative list.

Following the raids, DGCI had seized illegal cosmetics estimated to be worth $546K (INR 4 Cr) and lodged five FIRs across three cities — Mumbai, Pune and Delhi — against manufacturers who were making these cosmetics without a licence.

An Amazon India spokesperson said that the company takes strict action against sellers of “illegal or fake products” as and when such incidents are reported to it.

“Amazon.in is a third-party marketplace which enables sellers to list their products for sale to Indian customers. Sellers on Amazon.in own their respective products and are responsible for product compliances, as may be applicable.

“Amazon.in has a very high bar of customer experience and does take strict action against sellers who are selling illegal or fake products…in accordance with the due process of law, as and when such incidents are reported to us,” the spokesperson said.

An email query sent to Flipkart and IndiaMART didn’t elicit any response till the time of publication.

As more than 500 Mn Indians come online and rely on online service providers more for food, shopping, daily essentials etc, the regulatory bodies have picked up the time to pay attention to any infidelities happening with the customers.

Beyond trust issues, the regulatory bodies like the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) took up the onus to ask the online food delivery platforms to remove those food business operators (FBOs) that didn’t have a license obtained from the regulator.

As a result, nearly 5K restaurants had been delisted by 10 online food delivery platforms including Zomato, Swiggy, UberEats, FoodPanda among others, as they did not possess the FSSAI license.

In the case of fake goods, Delhi High Court had recently ordered Amazon Seller Services to delist some sellers on its platform after a premium brand Beverly Hills Polo Club said they were selling fake products on Amazon.

With a close eye set on major players catering to Indians much closer now, the sellers of spurious and adulterated products may have a tough time ahead.

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Most Consulted Consumer Protection Advocates

Advocate Lakshman Kumar is a Ranchi based lawyer and has been practising law since 2017. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Lakshman Kumar got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2017.
He has acquired his legal education from Faculty of Education, Jodhpur National University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Divorce, Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce and General Legal. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across Dhanbad District Court, Jharkhand High Court and Bokaro Civil Court.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Lakshman Kumar is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Aman Gupta is a Patiala based lawyer and has been practising law since 2017. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Aman got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2017.
He has acquired his legal education at Punjabi University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Consumer Protection, Corporate Law, Banking Arbitration, Property matters. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across district court Patiala , Punjab and Haryana High Courts.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Aman Gupta is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Shahid Khan is a Jhunjhunu based lawyer and has been practising law since 2000. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Shahid Khan got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2000.
He has acquired his legal education from Rajansthan University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce, and General Legal. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across District Court Jhunjhunu.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Shahid Khan is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra is a Bangalore based lawyer and has been practising law since 2008. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2008.
He has acquired his legal education Kuvempu University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Bail/Anticipatory Bail, Banking, Cheque Bounce, Child Custody, Consumer Protection, Divorce & Alimony, Family Law, IPR, Property/Real Estate and Taxation & Duty. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across City Civil Court Bengaluru, Commission, Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) Bangalore, Family Court Bangalore, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bangalore, Karnataka High Court and Karnataka State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission Bangalore.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Japnam Kaur Bindra practices at District Court Gurgaon and Supreme Court of India. She enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2015. She is also the member of the Bar Association of Delhi.
She provides services in the fields of family matters, divorce matters, corporate matters, consumer protection laws, criminal laws and drafting and vetting of various agreements and documents. She has an accomplished knowledge of her profession.
She ensures effective representation and personalized attention of her partners to maintain the quality of work and to deliver practical and innovative solutions to the clients. Her motto is to help the clients in achieve their goals by adopting the best possible legal approach to find the best solution to a legal issue. She has an experience of 2+ years in legal profession and providing services.

Advocate Varun Chugh is a Delhi based lawyer and has been practising law since 2010. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Varun Chugh got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2010.
He holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Divorce, Family Law, Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce and Traffic Violations. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across Delhi High Court, Dwarka District Court, Karkardooma District Court, Patiala House District Court, Saket District Court and Tis Hazari District Court.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Varun Chugh is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Top Consulted Consumer Protection Advocates

Advocate Lakshman Kumar is a Ranchi based lawyer and has been practising law since 2017. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Lakshman Kumar got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2017.
He has acquired his legal education from Faculty of Education, Jodhpur National University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Divorce, Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce and General Legal. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across Dhanbad District Court, Jharkhand High Court and Bokaro Civil Court.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Lakshman Kumar is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Aman Gupta is a Patiala based lawyer and has been practising law since 2017. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Aman got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2017.
He has acquired his legal education at Punjabi University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Consumer Protection, Corporate Law, Banking Arbitration, Property matters. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across district court Patiala , Punjab and Haryana High Courts.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Aman Gupta is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Shahid Khan is a Jhunjhunu based lawyer and has been practising law since 2000. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Shahid Khan got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2000.
He has acquired his legal education from Rajansthan University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce, and General Legal. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across District Court Jhunjhunu.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Shahid Khan is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra is a Bangalore based lawyer and has been practising law since 2008. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2008.
He has acquired his legal education Kuvempu University and holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Bail/Anticipatory Bail, Banking, Cheque Bounce, Child Custody, Consumer Protection, Divorce & Alimony, Family Law, IPR, Property/Real Estate and Taxation & Duty. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across City Civil Court Bengaluru, Commission, Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) Bangalore, Family Court Bangalore, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Bangalore, Karnataka High Court and Karnataka State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission Bangalore.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Siddhartha S. Ramachandra is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Advocate Japnam Kaur Bindra practices at District Court Gurgaon and Supreme Court of India. She enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 2015. She is also the member of the Bar Association of Delhi.
She provides services in the fields of family matters, divorce matters, corporate matters, consumer protection laws, criminal laws and drafting and vetting of various agreements and documents. She has an accomplished knowledge of her profession.
She ensures effective representation and personalized attention of her partners to maintain the quality of work and to deliver practical and innovative solutions to the clients. Her motto is to help the clients in achieve their goals by adopting the best possible legal approach to find the best solution to a legal issue. She has an experience of 2+ years in legal profession and providing services.

Advocate Varun Chugh is a Delhi based lawyer and has been practising law since 2010. He has been providing legal and advisory services as an independent lawyer. Advocate Varun Chugh got enrolled with the Bar Council in the year 2010.
He holds extensive experience in working in the most complex areas of Divorce, Family Law, Criminal Defence, Consumer Protection, Cheque Bounce and Traffic Violations. He holds experience in efficiently handling varied cases and often makes appearances across Delhi High Court, Dwarka District Court, Karkardooma District Court, Patiala House District Court, Saket District Court and Tis Hazari District Court.
He avidly believes in achieving the objectives of his client with compassion and accurate advocacy. Advocate Varun Chugh is known for providing timely and responsive legal services for his clients by providing them with the most expeditious legal course of action.

Top Legal Consumer Protection Queries

I want to file a consumer case againt my ISP i-on internet OR DVOISS SSV as they are known. They are asking me to pay the price for the wire that was cut from my terrace. When I asked to cancel they are refusing to refund the amount of Rs. 499 for the recharge that I made. I am asking for the refund as I was not able to use the service since the time I recharged.

I had applied for subscription in Rajlakshmi scheme of UTI. The essence of the scheme was that the sum of money deposited with the UTI would grow 21 times in 28 years. However subsequently, the UTI extended the maturity date by two years. Can I approach a Consumer Court?

In the normal course of business, various defects are noted in the equipment / machinery purchased by a Company. Can complaint be filed against the seller of machinery, before the Consumer Forum for such defects ? Or purchase of equipment for commercial purpose is outside the purview of the Consumer Protection Act ?

Respected Sir,
I am asking from Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) to file a complaint against a Fraud Cheating Online Consultancy Freelancer from Shine.com. They contacted me on 16th November of 2017 and told me that they got my resume from www.shine.com for Mechanical Departure of Indigo Airline Company and they are recruiting for Indigo Airlines company. And they told me to pay 2000 Rs as a registration fees for their company and I paid 2000 to them . But After that , I have checked their phone number in Shine Website ,It showed me their company . With that belief , After that they told me to pay 6000 Rs for resume modulation on November 17 of same month , So I have paid that amount also. After that on next day she called me and asked 13,000 Rs for some processing fees of my Resume to company . Then later on 20th November again she called me ask 23,000 Rs for to provide the letter of intent and she told me that our company (www.Freelancer.com) will ask no more money from you. After that on 27th November of 2017 again she called me and asked me to pay 28,000 Rs for Medical, Gate pass and Insurance Service , also she told me that this 28,000 Rs will not be refundable. Then again she called me on 30th November of 2017 and told me pay 10,000 Rs for to Create an account on Axis Bank for to create a salary account for me . Then on that day she told me that they will provide my offer letter on 8th December of 2017 by Courier . But , I haven't received anything , So again I called them and asked for my offer letter , she told me that on 10th December 2017 it will be provided but still , I haven't received anything from them. After that again on 13th December , I called her and asked about that courier , She told me to wait for 15th December of that month . But still , I haven't received anything from them. Then again , I called them they told me that I have to pay 2000 Rs on December 19th 2017 ,But still there is no answer from them. Totally , I have paid 84,000 Rs to them . I have all the details about money that I transferred to them and all the conversation via phone voice. I have attached all the evidence about their actions like voice recordings and bank transfer slips.

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